Canton woman to run her 100th marathon where it all began

Thursday

Melissa Johnson remembers what it was like running in the first Akron marathon in 2003.

She and her husband, Bob Kazar, had been married for five years. They both worked full time as accountants and were neglecting their health.

They got in shape and completed the race — their first. Fifteen years and 98 races later, the 50-year-old Canton woman is preparing to run in her 100th marathon Saturday in Akron.

TRAINING TO CHANGE HER LIFE

Johnson, who has two stepdaughters and a 5-year-old grandson, didn’t participate in sports in high school or college. Though she occasionally swam and ran and casually played softball, she didn’t consider herself athletic.

In February 2003, a friend told her about the Akron marathon happening in October. Upon hearing about it, she thought it would be great motivation for her and Kazar to get back into shape.

They trained for eight months. They spent their evenings after work running around the neighborhood and part of the marathon route.

The couple enjoyed their training.

“We would barely have time to spend time together because we would work so much,” Johnson said. “It was a great way for us to spend time together.”

Johnson realized her training was doing more than just helping her prepare for the marathon. She found herself feeling better mentally and physically and was performing better at her job.

“It was almost like brushing my teeth,” said the mother and grandmother. “I just began to feel better about everything.”

FIRST RACE

Fast-forward to race day, a cold, brisk Saturday in October 2003.

“I was nervous,” she said. “It was something that I’ve never done before. I wasn’t sure if I was able to finish it.”

The race began and she and Kazar, along with 860 other participants, started running.

After the first mile, she began to feel better about the race.

“You see everybody at the marathon and you realize everyone’s nervous and it made me feel better,” she said. “But I knew 26 miles was still a long way.”